1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mini-sized heat-dissipating module having an engaging structure. Particularly, the present invention relates to the mini-sized heat-dissipating module, including a miniature heat-dissipating plate and a miniature fan unit. More particularly, the present invention relates to the miniature heat-dissipating plate of the mini-sized heat-dissipating module having at least two engaging members to securely mount the miniature fan unit thereon.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring initially to FIG. 1, a conventional small-sized heat-dissipating module generally includes a heat sink member 7, a plurality of fixing elements 8 and a fan unit 9. The heat sink member 7 has a top surface on which to provide a plurality of fins 71 and a plurality of airflow channels 72. Each of the airflow channels 72 is formed between any two of the adjacent fins 71. Several assembling holes 73 are provided on a bottom plate of the heat sink member 7 to extend through the fixing elements 8 for assembling the small-sized heat-dissipating module. The fixing element 8 includes a resilient fastening member 81, an engaging shoulder 82 and an elastic member (i.e. spring member) 83. The resilient fastening member 81 is constructed on a first end of the fixing element 8, and is configured as a barb-like structure. A slit (unlabeled) is formed at the resilient fastening member 81 to provide a compressible space such that the structure of the resilient fastening member 81 is compressible in assembling operation. In addition, the engaging shoulder 82 is correspondingly constructed on a second end of the fixing element 8.
In assembling operation of the small-sized heat-dissipating module, the rod body of the fixing element 8 can pass through the elastic member 83 such that the entire section of the elastic member 83 is confined between the resilient fastening member 81 and the engaging shoulder 82 for avoiding unwanted or unexpected release. Each corner portion of the fan unit 9 includes a through hole 91 to extend through the fixing element 8 and to be aligned with the associated assembling hole 73 of the heat sink member 7 if they are stacked each other.
In initially assembling operation of the small-sized heat-dissipating module, the through hole 91 of the fan unit 9 and the assembling hole 73 of the heat sink member 7 are aligned with each other. Each resilient fastening member 81 of the fixing elements 8 is successively extended through the through hole 91 of the fan unit 9 and the assembling hole 73 of the heat sink member 7. In this circumstance, each resilient fastening member 81 of the fixing element 8 may be compressed to pass through the through hole 91 of the fan unit 9 and the assembling hole 73 of the heat sink member 7. Once passed, the resilient fastening member 81 of the fixing element 8 can automatically expand its original diameter of the barb-like structure such that the resilient fastening member 81 of the fixing element 8 engages with a peripheral edge of the assembling hole 73 of the heat sink member 7.
To maintain contact within the stacked component configuration (fan unit 9 and heat sink member 7, or heat sink member 7 and fixing element 8), a stress force of the elastic member 83 with an appropriate spring rate is exerted between the fixing element 8 and the fan unit 9. In heat-dissipating operation, the fan unit 9 serves to generate a cooling airflow through the airflow channels 72 of the heat sink member 7 which is mounted to a heat source (not shown, e.g. IC component).
Currently, an electronic component (not shown, e.g. computer chip or microprocessor) is widely equipped with the heat-dissipating module for removing heats surrounding it. As the size of the electronic component has become increasingly reduced, there has been an increased need for reducing the size of the small-sized heat-dissipating module. A number of design limitations and drawbacks exist for the above-mentioned heat-dissipating module. In other words, the small-sized heat-dissipating module is unsuitable for applying to a miniature electronic component without any modification. However, the functional disadvantages of the small-sized heat-dissipating module in applying to the miniature electronic component are as follows: by way of example, there is a need for providing the fixing element 8 in assembling the stacked configuration of the heat-dissipating module. In addition to this, there are additional spaces for providing the assembling holes 73 of the heat sink member 7 and the through holes 91 of the fan unit 9 to receive the fixing elements 8. This results in a hard degree of reducing the size of the small-sized heat-dissipating module which is unsuitable for applying to the miniature electronic component. Accordingly, there is a need for redesigning the heat-dissipating module in applying to the miniature electronic component.
As is described in greater detail below, the present invention intends to provide a mini-sized heat-dissipating module, including a miniature heat-dissipating plate and a miniature fan unit. The miniature heat-dissipating plate provides at least two engaging members so as to securely mount the miniature fan unit thereon in such a way as to mitigate and overcome the above problem. A fan wheel of the miniature fan unit takes up a maximum area less than 1.6 cm2 for rotation such that the heat-dissipating module is minimized for a miniature electronic component.